Rift Valley Institute Field Courses 2015

24 February 2015

The Rift Valley Institute's field courses on Sudan and South Sudan, the Horn of Africa, and the Great Lakes take place from June to July 2015. Now in their twelfth year, the courses provide a basis for understanding current political and developmental challenges in the region. They are taught by teams of leading specialists—from the region and beyond—and offer a unique opportunity to spend time with an outstanding group of specialists, away from routine distractions. RVI courses are designed for policy-makers, diplomats, investors, development workers, researchers, activists and journalists—for new arrivals in the region and those already working there who wish to deepen their knowledge. A dawn-to-dusk programme of seminars, lectures, group discussions and special events examines the key social, environmental, political and cultural features of each of the three sub-regions.

The Horn of Africa Course, held in Kenya from 13 to 19 June, covers Somalia and the Somali territories, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti and Northern Kenya. This year’s will focus particularly on 'borders and borderlands. The Horn’s remote borderland areas were once peripheral and largely ignored, but today are taking on new prominence thanks to oil exploration, major development projects, cross-border trade, insurgencies, federalism, regional integration proposals, and political devolution. Borders—defined along political, livelihood, and ethnic lines—remain deeply contested and flashpoints of political violence across the region. The course will also explore critical political, economic, and foreign relations issues in the Horn today, as well as providing cultural awareness sessions.

The Director of Studies is Ken Menkhaus, supported by Mark Bradbury. He will be joined by a teaching staff of—amongst others—Christopher Clapham, Lee Cassanelli, Dereje Feyissa, Laura Hammond, Nimo-ilhan Ali, Michael Woldemariam and Matt Bryden.

The Great Lakes Course, held in Kenya from 27 June to 3 July, covers the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Rwanda and Burundi. Elections, conflict, and changes in the region’s political economy will be at the forefront of our discussions. Presentations on the region’s complex history and society will provide the larger context for a stimulating week of discussion and learning. The Congo will again take centre stage, with a focus on the controversial electoral process, President Kabila’s succession struggle, and armed violence in the Kivus. The Course will take place shortly after Burundi’s elections, scheduled for May and June. We will take stock of the process and analyse the likely impact of the results on the country’s politics and stability. Finally, Rwanda faces the prospect of a hand over of power from Paul Kagame in 2017. We will explore this potential shift against the backdrop of governance and development in the two decades since the genocide.

Jason Stearns will direct this year’s Great Lakes Course, supported by Emily Paddon and Judith Verweijen. The directing team will be joined by Aidan Russell, Emmanuel de Mérode, Jean Omasombo, Koen Vlassenroot, Michael Kavanagh and Willy Nindorera.

Over one year into a bloody and stubborn civil war in South Sudan, political enmities, its war economy and ethnic tensions have steadily worsened, destabilising the the region. Peace deals have come and gone as quickly as deadlines and the threat of sanctions from the region and beyond. Defections, rejections, rebellions and accommodations only add to the exhaustion of efforts to build peace. In Sudan, the government manages an ever tighter grip on the state, despite insuppressible regional insurgencies, growing constellations of opposition voices, internal succession intrigues and perennial economic uncertainties. Deftly creating and exploiting political rivalries and patronage opportunities, the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) maintains its own centrifugal stability and seems in casual control of power. Oil unites and divides within and between both countries, but in Sudan especially, the need to understand the post-oil economy is stronger than ever. Elections are scheduled in both nations for 2015, yet their significance remains opaque. Seasoned commentators will feel that we have been here before. This is precisely why understanding the histories of state formation and conflict is vitally important. This year's Sudan and South Sudan Course, held from 11 to 17 July in Kenya, addresses the challenge of working in this complex, fluid environment, linking analysis of current events to contextual understanding of the region, society and economy.

Sharath Srinivasan will direct this year’s Sudans Course. He will be joined by Daniel Large, Douglas Johnson, David Deng, Cherry Leonardi, Magdi el-Gizouli, Nada Ali Mustafa, Laura James and Suliman Baldo.

Accounts of previous years' courses can be found here, and testimonials from previous course participants can be read here. In the coming months the RVI will be sending out updates on the courses, including on teaching staff and locations. In order to receive these, please subscribe to the RVI mailing list. You can also follow the Institute on Twitterand Facebook.